villages correspond, for the utmost part, of substantial flat-

encamped houses erected of monument or concrete. Some of

the temporary agreements of fishermen and the poor are still
constructed of barasti( branches of the date palm). This area
has an aspect of great fertility, which contrasts starkly with the
bare desert appearance of important of the country. There is
little endless agreement either in the southern half of Bahrain
Island oronthelowerislands.More than one- third of the
population lives in the two top cosmopolises, Manama and Al-
Muḥarraq. Manama, with its harborage of Mīnāʾ Salmān, is the
largest municipality and contains the main government
services, the business and financial quarter, multitudinous large
taverns, Western- style shops, and a traditional Arab
souk( request). Other major agreements are ʿAwālī, near the
centre of Bahrain Island, erected largely for endemic workers of
theBahrainPetroleumCompanyB.S.C.( Bapco); It has a distinctly
modern appearance as compared with Al- Muḥarraq,